the worst part is there's no one else to blame

 “I am going to take you to the boathouse and finally spank you in there if you don’t  snap out of this mood,” he whispers to me.I gasp with shock, turn, and gape at him. What? Is he teasing me?“You wouldn’t dare!” I growl at him and from deep inside I feel a familiar, welcome excitement. He cocks an eyebrow at me.Of course  he would.

 “Hi.” He puts his arm around my waist, pulling me to him, and I slip my hand into the back pocket of his jeans. We gaze out at the rain.

 “You going to spank me?” I whisper, and suddenly there are butterflies in my stomach. Perhaps this is what I need . . . this is what I have been missing.He gazes down at me, his eyes darkening.“I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m more than happy to play.”I glance nervously around the large room, but we are out of earshot.“Only if you misbehave.” He bends and murmurs in my ear.How can he put so much sensual promise into six words?“I’ll see what I can do.” I grin.

 Once we’ve said our good-byes, we walk over to the car.“Here.” He throws me the keys to the R8. “Don’t bend it”—he adds in all seriousness—“or I will be fucking pissed.”My mouth goes dry. He’s letting me drive his car? My inner goddess whips on her leather driving gloves  and flat shoes. Oh yes! she cries.“Are you sure?” I mouth, stunned.“Yes, before I change my mind.”I don’t think I have ever grinned so hard. He rolls his eyes and opens the driver’s door so that I can climb in. I start the engine before he’s even reached the passenger side, and he jumps in quickly.

 “It’s the adrenaline, baby,” he says. “You did amazingly well, as usual. You blow me away. You never let me down.” He touches my cheek tenderly with the back of his hand, his face full of love,fear, regret—so many  emotions at once—and his words are my undoing. Overwhelmed, a strangled sob escapes from my constricted throat, and I start to cry.“No, baby, no. Please don’t cry.” He reaches over and, despite the limited space we have, pulls me over the handbrake console to cradle me in his lap. Smoothing my hair off my face, he kisses my eyes, then my cheeks, and I curl my arms around him and sob quietly into his neck. He buries his nose in my hair and wraps me in his arms, holding me tight and we sit, neither of us saying anything, just holding each other.

 I wipe my nose again. He tips my chin up  and plants a gentle kiss on my lips. “Your lips are so soft when you cry, my beautiful, brave girl,” he whispers.“Kiss me again.”He stills, one hand on my back, the other on my behind.

 “Kiss me,” I breathe, and I watch his lips part as he inhales sharply. Leaning across me, he takes the BlackBerry out of its cradle, and tosses it onto the driver’s seat beside my sandaled feet. Then his mouth is on me as he moves his right hand into my hair, holding me in place, and lifts his left to cradle my face. His tongue invades my mouth, and I welcome it. Adrenaline turns to lust streaking through my body. I clasp his face, running my fingers over his sideburns, relishing the taste of him. He groans at my fevered response, low and deep in his throat, and my belly tightens swift and hard with carnal desire. His hand moves down my body, brushing my breast, my waist, and down to my backside. I shift fractionally.

 “Ah!” he says and breaks away from me, breathless.“What?” I mutter against his lips.“ we’re in a car .”“So?”“Well, right now I want to fuck you, and you’re shifting around on me . . . it’s uncomfortable.”My craving spirals out of control at his words, tightening all my muscles below my waist once more.“Fuck me then.” I kiss the corner of his mouth. I want him. Now. That car chase was exciting. Too exciting. Terrifying . . . and the fear has jump-started my libido. He leans back to gaze at me, his eyes dark and hooded.

 “Here?” His voice is husky.My mouth goes dry. How can he turn me on with one word? “Yes. I want you. Now.”He tilts his head to one side and stares at me for a few moments. “ how very brazen,” he whispers, after what feels like an eternity. His hand tightens around my hair at my nape, holding me firmly in place, and his mouth is on mine again, more forcefully this time. His other hand skims down my body, down over my behind and lower still to my mid-thigh. My fingers curl into his overlong hair.

 “I’m so glad you’re wearing a skirt,” he murmurs as he slips his hand beneath my blue and white patterned skirt to caress my thigh. I squirm once more on his lap and the air hisses between his teeth.“Keep still,” he growls. He cups my sex with his hand, and I still immediately. His thumb brushes over my clitoris, and my breath catches in my throat as pleasure jolts like electricity deep, deep, deep inside me.